CityCyclingEdinburgh was launched on the 27th of October 2009 as "an experiment".
IT’S TRUE!
CCE is 15years old!
Well done to ALL posters
It soon became useful and entertaining. There are regular posters, people who add useful info occasionally and plenty more who drop by to watch. That's fine. If you want to add news/comments it's easy to register and become a member.
RULES No personal insults. No swearing.
If you want to see what Labour manifestos used to look like, have a gander at "Let Us Face the Future", their 1945 manifesto:
http://www.politicsresources.net/area/uk/man/lab45.htm
No room for waffle in this. Nationalising rail, bus and ferry services merits two lines. The creation of the NHS just three short paragraphs.
Probably the most powerful political document I have ever read. It still exerts a massive influence on the country today.
They really, really don't make them like they used to.
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Our transition to a sustainable future requires greater emphasis on public transport and active travel.
...
As well as providing good quality, a ordable public transport we also want to see more investment in active travel, not just to improve people’s transport choices, but to improve people’s health and wellbeing, and make our communities safer.
...
Extra investment in the city of Edinburgh is driving up active travel and we want to see more investment across the country
"
@Morningsider
Great link. That's the very document that set the political tone for my grandparents and for me through their heritage.
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How we rate the manifestos on cycling, active travel and related transport issues…
1st Green
2nd= Labour/LibDem
4th= Conservative/SNP
6th UKIP
"
http://www.spokes.org.uk/2016/04/holyrood-election-manifestos/
I found this report via Spokes/Kezia Dugdale:
http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/parliamentarybusiness/report.aspx?r=10296&mode=pdf
This extract was of interest:
"Our investment in the strategic road
transport network will ultimately support the low-
carbon agenda, whether through providing
efficient links for public transport and the new
generation of low-carbon vehicles, taking traffic off
local roads to improve conditions for active travel
or facilitating modal shift."
Efficient links for motor vehicles, back streets for active travel. Sounds more like the status quo than modal shift.
That extract was from Keith Brown (SNP)
Summary of the Walk Cycle Vote campaign with a week to go
@Erob, doublethink.
"Our investment in the strategic road
transport network will ultimately support the low-
carbon agenda"...
See "We had to destroy the village in order to save it".
Trickle down motoring - I've heard it all now.
I drew some pictures: http://walkcyclevote.scot/where-do-we-stand-in-pictures/
(no need for kaputnik to panic)
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Ms Hyslop says one issue that keeps coming up is West Lothian Council cutting the budget for buses.
"
"
Her comments came as a poll found support for the SNP had dipped, though the party still had a clear lead.
In the TNS survey, the SNP was on 52 per cent in the constituency vote, down four points since last month, with Labour up three to 22 per cent, the Tories up two to 17 per cent and the Lib Dems up one to seven per cent.
In the list vote, the SNP was down two points to 45 per cent; Labour up one to 22 per cent, the Tories up three to 18 per cent; Lib Dems down one to 5 per cent and the Greens unchanged on 8 per cent.
The findings were projected to give the SNP 70 seats, Labour 27, the Tories 21, Greens eight and Lib Dems three.
"
Not neccessarily aimed at Kez specifically (did Wullie Rennie take a T-shirt last year), but does a party leader really "get" PoP if they're prepared to wear the T-shirt put on the sign, get on their bike, go to the event and then (apparently) offer nothing more in their manifesto than the bare minimum status quo?
Perhaps T-shirts for politicians should be reserved for those who sign a pledge on the bottom of the PoP manifesto. Not including Nick Clegg, we know what his signed pledges are worth.
I think we don't expect anything off the Tories, we've come to expect nothing but words and warmish air off the SNP and we just don't expect the Lib Dems. I think it leads a party leader exposed to visually embrace something fairly enthusiastically without actually following up.
Who knows.
"offer nothing more in their manifesto than the bare minimum status quo"
Don't think that's strictly true -
"
+ [p49] We want to see more investment in active travel, not just to improve people’s transport choices, but to improve people’s health and wellbeing, and make our communities safer. Extra investment in the City of Edinburgh is driving up active travel and we want to see more investment across the country. {It is disappointing that a level of increase is not stated, but the inclusion of the Edinburgh example suggests a substantial improvement – Edinburgh allocated 5% of its transport budget to cycling, rising by 1% a year to 10% by 2017}.
"
http://www.spokes.org.uk/2016/03/holyrood-election-5-may-2016/#Manifestos
"
I'm certainly not an apologist for the Labour Party, at least KD took part in PoP after (presumably) arranging for a photocall.
It's not that long since the Labour machine told Sarah Boyack not to be seen cycling (when she was Transport Minister)!
I wonder if the cost of the t-shirt will appear in "expenses".
By contrast, a year ago -
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The SNP (@theSNP)
24/04/2015, 13:15
An interview with a difference- .@NicolaSturgeon on her bike in Pollok Country Park this afternoon. #ge15 #voteSNP
http://pic.twitter.com/I6XkaZbRuQ
"
Don't think that's strictly true
It is in respect to the status quo (i.e. Scottish Government) being the offerage of a non-specific volume of extra crumbs. More crumbs for all, but that of course could mean just 1 crumb.
And yes it's great that the leader of what (should be) the second largest party at Holyrood and of (what should be) a reasonable opposition has come to Pop (for 2nd year in a row, or is it more?) in the T-shirt. But cycling needs more than political photo ops.
Nicola just isn't bothering to get engaged about active transport from what I can see (her interview on a bike wasn't really anything to do with cycling as such) so she doesn't leave herself exposed to any claims of talking the talk but not walking the walk (or pedaling the pedal as the case may be).
Ian Murray and Andrew Burns we know both regularly cycle around town in a fairly citizen cyclist manner. Sarah Boyack too (I think?) I'd just expect them to get it a bit more and be all over it as a political vote winner with a fairly limited (in overall budget terms) funding requirement needed to follow it through.
I'm really just quite surprised how unwilling anyone seems to be to give the SNP a good kick in the soft underbelly of it's commitment to / record on active transport. Even the Greens, partially. Perhaps the political anoraks within their respective party organisations have decided it's not worth going for the pedalling / perambulating / promenading vote it and it's best to just keep trying to hit them front on on issues like tax, the NHS, Education etc. where they currently appear to be fairly teflon coated.
According to the "on behalf of" address on her election leaflet we got through the door, Kez lives at the end of my road.
Extra investment in the City of Edinburgh is driving up active travel and we want to see more investment across the country.
Wasn't that the work of Gordon Mckenzie mainly before the bonfire of the LibDems?
@k
You are of course right -
it's all not nearly enough
it's strange that no-one attacks the SNP significantly on transport
there is a universal fear of 'offending the motorist/voter'
the Lab manifesto (on AT) isn't good enough (my understanding was that Sarah Boyack was writing that bit)
rising CEC cycle budget thanks to Gordon Mackenzie
I'm pretty sure if Labour came out rather strong on AT that the SNP would follow suit with a few extra bells in their sort of interminable policy and manifesto cold war. I doubt the SNP will have an epiphany on the matter of its own accord.
Perhaps Labour in their current malaise have taken an attitude of "why bother, they'll just do the same as us and claim they did it first"?
Cycling simply isn't seen as a vote winner for a sufficiently large proportion of voters to include significant cycling commitments in a manifesto, with the exception of the Greens.
I think it is worth considering the tone, and what is left unsaid, in each manifesto. The SNP manifesto features significant photos of the Forth Crossing and trumpets "investment" in roads. The Labour manifesto focuses on public transport, transferring freight to rail and includes pictures of senior party members cycling - no mention of road building.
Fluff? Possibly - but to me it does show a significant difference in emphasis.
"there is a universal fear of 'offending the motorist/voter' "
That pretty much sums it up.
Frankly I'm surprised by the extent to which politicians from the 'big' parties have actually turned out to PoP, given that there must be pitifully few votes in it for them. Maybe once they realised it wasn't a lynch mob, and that cyclists were basically fairly harmless, they decided why not go along. Nice photo op, warm glow, kids on bikes, opportunity to showcase commitments on AT, etc. After all, it's only once a year, and the next day everyone can get back to the business of talking about the NHS, taxation, etc.
I suspect the Conservatives only send the odd cycling maverick along from south Edinburgb somewhere. Ruth Davidson gaining more political mileage from appealing to militant anti-cycling motorist faction, see Roseburn cafe pics.
"Roads for the Regions" would be a good headline for the transport section of the SNP manifesto.
Perhaps followed up with "Crumbs for the Cyclists".
You won't get Ruth along to PoP until someone lets her bring her tank.
"Roads for the Regions" would be a good headline for the transport section of the SNP manifesto.
Perhaps followed up with "Crumbs for the Cyclists".
Which probably suits their core voters just fine. In fact I daresay many core SNP voters would be happy to see the crumbs reallocated to cut Air Passenger Duty, the better to drive to the airport and offset the cheaper flight against the long term parking when they head off to the sun for two weeks.
"Cycling simply isn't seen as a vote winner for a sufficiently large proportion of voters to include significant cycling commitments in a manifesto"
Undoubtedly true, and something 'we' always need to be aware of. Though perhaps it's 'isn't seen as a vote winner for a sufficiently large proportion of POLITICIANS'.
But, arguably, the fact that 'senior' Lab/Lib/Green people turn up at PoP shows a degree of understanding/willingness to rise above the simplistic motorists = voters attitude.
Of course the 'WE' (as cyclists) tend to be drivers too AND (like most people) walk too.
Which is why WalkCycleVote is such a great idea/campaign.
PoP is also Pedestrian on P - something that I'm sure will be highlighted more in future.
All the (necessary) attempts to get cycling seen as a normal/everyday means of transport can be seen as 'special pleading for a minority' - meanwhile the true majority get marginalised by the continuing obsession with enabling the motoring minority.
"...something that I'm sure will be highlighted more in future..."
ActivelyTravel On Administration?
Politicians seem to like visiting local industries, so get them to visit some local bicycle-related industries for some easily-discerned 'active-travel-is-good-for-the-economy' chat if the link between cycle/walk-ability and passing-trade (as cited over on the Roseburn thread) is a bit of a stretch.
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